Ah, Italia. We have finally returned to where we started--delicious tomatoes, cheese and vino, balconies and drying laundry overhead, and spoiled boys playing underfoot. But Napoli is a strange counterpart to the Northern Italy I know so well. Somehow the flat, oily pizzas are addictive, and the monstrous churches squeezed into the middle of each modern apartment block are somehow impressive. Scott and I spent much time in the old streets, having made the torturous decision to skip Pompei and Vesuvius. That side trip would have been a fantastic day, but after four ferry rides in the last two weeks (not to mention Marmaris and Samaria) we really needed an honest to goodness break before the unreal madness of returning to Boston.

We didn't run out of things to do though. The first day we went up to Castel Del'Ovo to explore the medieval walkways and photograph the nearby waterfront and fishing village. On our way back we stumbled upon the Galeria Umberto--although two of the four wings were in scaffolding, it was a beautiful thing to behold. The next day we saw the grand Duomo and wandered around the touristy, narrow streets of the Historical Center. And just yesterday we took a thrilling tour of Napoli's underground theatre and passgaeways. It was fascinating to discover the depths of a city that has "grown vertically".

That doesn't seem like much to do in three days, but we're still catching up on sleep, and trying to find some way to believe that these are the last days of our trip. We spent a few hours online looking at houses in Jamaica Plain, and rating the hostels we've been to over the last six months. We uploaded our last pictures on STA. (I can't believe I've taken my last photos of this trip. We've taken the last ferry and the last bus rides. Today we take our last train ride to our last hostel for our last night. It just doesn't seem true and real.) And each night after cooking a scrumptiously Italian meal, Scott and I have stolen away to our private room to read and watch DVDs. I think we've spent our last days gloriously well, even if I can't make myself understand that these are the last.